Boss confirms he wants to stay

Arsene Wenger has, it seems, confirmed he’s going to stay at Arsenal and sign a new contract.

Speaking to French television, Wenger was asked about his future and said, “Look, I have said that many times already, I have given my word to this club and that I want to continue where I am.

“That means to stay.”

While it’s clear that the manager’s intentions are to sign a new deal and continue with the club he’s been with since 1996, the fact he hasn’t signed yet is an indication that he knows his future is dependent on what happens between now and the end of the season.

Arsenal are chasing a top four place and the FA Cup final gives them the chance at their first trophy since 2005, and it seems Wenger’s decision will be influenced by what happens there.

The Frenchman has gone on record to say he would assess his situation based on whether or not he feels the club have made progress. A trophy and a top four position would provide that, anything less is open to serious questioning.

And The Times are reporting that Monaco are seeking to take advantage of his contract situation by offering him a massive deal to replace Claudio Ranieri in the summer.

Not to say that Arsene is the only man to move arsenal forward, but there’s no way this summer we can replace the manager and source the extra quality we need. We struggled to sign even one forward last summer ffs.

So as much as I would have accepted (not called for) a change at the top, it’s way too late in the day in a World Cup year for it to happen now.

Arsene needs to set a retirement day well in advance like Heyncks did. That way the ham fisted fuckwits in the board have at least half a chance of finding a worthy successor.

Honestly I saw this on BBC Gossip and hoped it was wrong. Same old tired shit for another season or two. Frankly I’ve sat on the fence for that long and tried to remain objective but now no, it’s about time he was put out to stud.

Look where their “strengthening” took them. Looking at third in the league probably 2 points ahead of Arsenal that has been dogged by multiple injuries? Fair enough they’re in the UCL semis, but I don’t fancy them to beat Athletico tbh

@mikel’s new Tooth: Chelsea drew at athletics and I wouldn’t put it past mourinho to sneak a 1-0 win at Chelsea. Its what he does best. But on the whole, yes I Agree with your point and I don’t fancy them against Madrid or Bayern.
Also, @Northerngoon: mourinho isn’t what we can exactly call a new manager at Chelsea. And people who call for wenger to be sacked need to seriosly consider would they rather have. It’s not like the nighties where we can pluck an unknown guy out of an unknown league. Couple of years ago, so many people were calling for Moyes to replace wenger.
Alsao, you need to consider, without Wenger, how can we attract people like ozil when clubs like Madrid and city offer wages and transferred fess that go through the roof ?

Wenger needs to set a date and allow the board to bring in Guardiola after 2 more years of Monsieur Wenger. He needs to leave a young squad for a new manager to have everything in place rather than the catastrophe at the Theatre of Nightmares.

Just remember what happened to David Moyes. Ferguson knew the team he was leaving was past it and he knew it had to be rebuilt, thats why he got out, but Moyes should have said from the start that the team needs rebuilding and its going to take at least 2 seasons. Also Ferguson should have left him the mobile numbers for the refs.

Ozil was bought out of fan pressure. No one can stand there and say we were negotiating his signature since the window opened. For fuck sake I hate how short term form clouds the judgement of fans. We’ve been having consistent injury issues for the past 5 years until we fashioned a phrase for players coming back LANS. Where in the world do you find people missing for such lengths only for the fans to call them new signings. We’ve been thrashed by the rest of the top 5 by high ass figures. Leave alone this season, you just have to think back to season after season. We fail to make the crucial acquisitions in the transfer window time after time after time.

We lost the best chance to get the title this year. Wenger not siging replacements and cover for certain players was negligent. He’ll get his new deal, but sadly something tells me the Arsene romance with the fans will have a sad ending. The signs are there, some of us are just too stuborn to see it.

If fans have any love for Wenger we’ve got to let him get revenge on Maureen. I would pay a lot of money to see him smash Maureen 7-0 and laugh in his face. Nowadays, I hate Chelsea more than I hate the Spuds and that’s saying something.

Nice Nazi salute by their fans vs Atletico by the way. Keeping it classy as always. Not the first time this season.

Neil, I hadn’t seen that article before but it does not surprise me, they have the studiest fans on the planet. I was on a flight back from Valencia after they played Chelsea, just a coincidence I guarentee you all. There was one beligerent ass spouting all of this anti-semetic shit and also focusing it on me, not that I am jewish. I then pointed out how amazingly stupid he was to be doing that as at the time, Chelsea was the most semetic Team in the Country. Abramovich, Benayon, Avran Grant, Ben Haim and Ben Sahar. That fans, Team and Players are just putrid.

I wish they’d get rid of that crap beer they sell at the Emirates…we are Arsenal, we have class (and we pay for it through the nose) why should I only be served Carlsberg, when I never drink that cat piss? why not Tribute or Doom Bar? and why is it that CL nights are dry (sponsored by Heineken, that’s a laugh)? yeah that and strengthening the squad and pissing all over the Spuds and the chavs…COYG!

Truly grateful for all this man has done for this club. Would love to see him have one final crack now that the financial shackles are off, and once and for all prove all those doubters wrong. There’s no way this man achieved what he did in the first half of his 1000 games with us by fluke, and I sincerely hope all gooners will afford him that one last chance to finish off what he started. In 3 years’ time when we’ve swept everyone aside and sent the Bayern players pissing in their shorts we’ll be grateful for having this great man at the helm

He had a crack at it, but thanks to the injuries sustained throughout the season he couldn’t achieve what he and the team were capable of. The manager, players and fans were let down this season. The staff who led to players missing months instead of weeks need to go.

You mean the financial shackles that have been off for many years? Don’t you see that Wenger never will spend the money required on the best players? If so, why did he not during the last few years? Özil was nothing compared to what he has available.

One very important thing to note is that the real value of our savings gets smaller for every year as there is ‘football inflation’. Piling up money in a big pile like we do in fact means the money we have gets worth less and less in the market, as prices rise higher than the interests on the savings. This is basic economics, and I find it worrying that the ones running the club do not see this. So basically, the incompetence and dithering from Wenger regarding transfers means he makes the real worth of the club’s savings decrease. And he is regarded as a financial genius who has saved us from ‘the shackles’.

Now, as I said: it is not in any way a responsible tactic to pile up the money. He has made the club worse off, and that, combined with 9 years of failure is not enough to offer him a new contract. Too bad the unambitious board, as well as a majority of you do not feel that.

I know that this will get disliked, and I will be labelled a non-fan. But really, I want the club to do well. It has not done for almost ten years. A real fan would want change for the better. And believing Arsène will ever change is both naïve and deluded. I really hope he proves me wrong, but I really do not see it.

So who do you want as a replacement.
Klopp? He pretty much has the same faults as AW. He has only one style(the high press vertical football) and never varies it, hardly rotates and his squad always has a big list of injuries. What he did in 2009-11 was exactly what AW did in 2007-08(only Klopp didnt have a thug break the leg of an important player. Luck is important if the team in question a young team which has never won a trophy before.)
Martinez is not proven at the top level and Simeone is not someone who will follow our philosophy.
On finance, I would rather trust the board and the manager than a random surveyor.

“Now, as I said: it is not in any way a responsible tactic to pile up the money. He has made the club worse off, and that, combined with 9 years of failure is not enough to offer him a new contract. Too bad the unambitious board, as well as a majority of you do not feel that.”

To suggest he has made the club worse off is laughable. Sixteen years of champions league football and a stadium capable of generating huge commercial revenues thanks to AW. Would we have these cash reserves if it was not for him?

And nine years of failure? You have been paying too much attention to Mourinhio. Qualifying for the CL with a net spend lower than Norwich City or West Ham is not failure in my book. Only Newcastle have a lower net spend over the last five years – an enforced situation to ensure our long term sustainability. No one is suggesting you are not a “real fan,” but your criticisms are ill placed.

@abfp I’m pretty sure, they have a certain amount of cash reserves and operate with the major part of it in real estate, fonds, etc. as all big businesses do. Easily more revenue than interest on savings, very probably more revenue than prices of players rise.

He certainly deserves another crack at it if he is going to spend. The club need to change there method in the transfer windows though. It is becoming harder and harder to get champions league football and next season will be tougher still. I’m sure Arsene has some targets in mind for us next season we have to move fast and sign them up ASAP give them time to blend with the squad and start the season strongly. Manure, the bin dippers and the spuds will probably spend big in order to get in the top four. Arsenal will have to do the same we have the better manager give him the tools to work with!!

“The problem was the (new) stadium. They didn’t have the money to buy the players. Arsene is a straight guy. He can see into the future.

“He didn’t want to be penalised by Financial Fair Play so he wanted to stay by the rules and not living by debt. This year everything has been paid. He’s just paid €50m for Mesut Ozil. In the future, he will do it.’’

I actually think the new stadium costs aren’t quite the issue many believe. Gate receipt income from the Emirates is much higher than from Highbury, which has surely offset the cost by a considerable amount by now. I’d be interested in seeing an accounts sheet comparison showing counterfactual net balance assuming we stayed at Highbury. My guess is there wouldn’t be much in it.

The big thing which happened since 2005 has been the huge inflation in wages and transfer prices. Our current annual net spend on players (wages and transfers) is more than double what it was in 2005. If you look at a nearby club which hasn’t moved stadium (Spuds) their current total revenue (albeit without CL money) would only just cover our wage bill so I doubt we’d have much to spend on transfers if we’d stayed at Highbury.

Of course, going forward paying off the stadium debt releases more and more cash.

[sarcasm] Yeah, just hate it when he doesn’t sign. I mean, only Mertesacker, Arteta, Gervinho (who was a good signing but unfortunately a misfit, been great at Roma, scored tonight as well), Cazorla, Podolski, Giroud, Monreal, Flamini and then ended up going after Suarez (got robbed out of that by John Henry) and then got possibly the world’s best attacking midfielder in Ozil!

Arsenal could have taken them to court and signed Suárez that way. But Henry gambled that we would not do that, and he got it right.

But on that list of players Wenger has signed lately, few of them would be tempting to sign for United, City, Chelsea, Madrid, Barca, Juventus or Bayern Munich or any other top European Clubs fighting for trophies.:)

But our Budget have not been great in the last decade, and we have not been able to choose players from the top shelf, But Wenger did sign Özil when the money was available to do so, And at the time Özil was recogniced as Perhaps the best Cam in the world on account of how he had been performing for Real Madrid over several years.

We also know Wenger tried to sign Suárez and Higuain, and reportedly enquired about Lewandowski, so the will and money is there now to go after top shelf players, and with the Özil signing he showed that. But i Agree we could have been more active than we were in the end, and i would prefer if we did not wait until deadline day to make signings :p

Injuries ruined what could have been the double this season, But i do believe Wenger is more than capable of taking us into a New glory period, and we might just start trophy collecting again allready this season with the F.A Cup, and i cant wait to see what next season has in store for us. 🙂 Coyg!

Should I be happy by this news? We had an opportunity to win the league and he threw it away. Do you think somehow he wouldn’t do that again? I would love Wenger to stay but a Wenger who has WAY less power and control over the club than he has now. Seeing as that is not possible I wish him the very best as he is a legend but it’s time to part ways.

Oi mate, mind telling me who got us to the top of the league in the first place this season?

Was it, by any chance, WENGER?! Exactly.

Besides, can we stop these ridiculous consipracy sounding theories? Why on earth would Wenger purposely throw away the title, I mean he is stubborn, but if you think any manager let alone one that loves this club so much would just throw away the title, you’re delusional.

The fixture list. I know matches aren’t won before they played, but we’ve basically reverted to a pattern that’s played out over 5 years now. Wenger gets us to fourth at the end of every season. There is very little to indicate that it’s going to improve.

Look we all know he needs to employ several people who can openly disagree with him on player welfare, drills, fitness and mentality and that stuff…that stuff is a fucken given. He should know that, and act on the missed opportunity this season laid bare. If he does, and I say if, hell yeah give him two more years. If he did that – and also spent what is in the end not even his money, and let other people assist valuations etc – why shouldn’t we all want that?

In general I agree with you and Pharell Williams. Happiness is for me. However I will be unhappy if I have to see another January to April collapse next sreason and have to look at another really good opportunity being wasted…

Keeping us in the champions league after getting Arsenal to build the Emirates. Most clubs get relegated or go into administration let alone finish in the top 4 and challenge for the title. We’re in the FA cup finals this season and look favourites to win it.

In what ways has he improved our weaknesses? Ermm, our weakness was a lack of solid defence and now we’ve got one of the best in the league, sure they’ve taken hits as well but on their days their unstoppable.

Sure name those 3, but he did go after strikers didn’t he? Suarez (who should have been sold to us), Higuain (34m too high for him), and now hopefully we’ll get a great striker once the window opens.

We don’t “have some form of Stockholm Syndrome”, we’re just not stupid and actually have some faith and loyalty to the man that has done so much for us.

Exactly. I seriously don’t know why most fans don’t understand this. The likes of Chelsea, Liverpool and Spurs will have to go through the same process that we did very soon and it will be very interesting to see how they cope with it.

we’ve improved by…
1. increased commercial revenue (puma, for example)
2. actually making world-class signings (ozil, ever heard of him?)
3. attempting to sign other world class players (suarez, higuain, I know they didn’t happen, but in my opinion its a promising sign that we are pursuing players of that caliber)
4. much fewer absolute cock ups (4-4 vs newcastle from a few years back comes to mind)
5. player retention

1. I’m wondering what that increased commercial revenue is actually worth, sat in the bank earning a paltry rate of interest. Perhaps we can build another stadium with it.

2. Yes, heard of Ozil, but not seen much of him. He looks as miserable as sin. Maybe that’s just his natural demeanour. Maybe he’s homesick.

3. I set out this morning with the intention of buying a brand new Rolls-Royce. Unfortunately myself and the salesman couldn’t agree on a price. But the intention was there on my part, I **attempted** to buy the car. It’s a promising sign that one day I might own a brand new shiny Roll-Royce, even on my unexceptional wages.

4. Well if you consider letting a 4 goal lead slip to be more of a cock-up than getting battered 6-3 (Man city), 5-1 (Liverpool), and 6-0 (Chelski) in single season then I concede your point.

5. Not sure that a). Podolski consistently pining for return to Cologne. b). Cazorla as much as saying that if it doesn’t look like he’ll win anything at the Arse then he’s off. c). Fabianski saying he’s off so that he can play regular first team football. d). Vermaelan ditto. e). Sagna definitely going, are signs of “good player retention”

1. I highly doubt our ‘war chest’ is earning the same miserable interest rate that your and my savings accounts are earning. However, I just plain old do not have access to the actual finances, so must plead overall ignorance.
2. so terrible, ozil has 4 goals and 9 assists in the premier league. are you seriously saying he is a bad player???? take a few deep breaths, its ok we all make mistakes.
3. no you didn’t, and no you can’t afford one. arsene, however, actually did make contact and try to buy higuain and suarez. and we can afford them.
4. should have said “fewer cock ups against lower level opposition”. remember the days when every corner would be hear-attack inducing?
5. I like that you are putting your own little twist on player statements. Poldi said “maybe I’ll play again with the Billy Goats, this is for me always an option and a matter of the heart”. hardly consistent pining is it? can’t be bothered to find the cazorla original quotes.

the soap opera I’m currently watching is “sad old arsenal ‘fan’ doesn’t realize how good hes got it.’ we aren’t bayern/real madrid/chelsea no matter how much you want us to be. at the end of the day, we are the 4th richest club in england and we usually finish 4th. its not fucking rocket science.

Stiff-upper, mate, I don’t mind you abusing me, I mean knock yourself out, I really don’t care, but when you comment on my points have the decency to quote me correctly.

3. At what point did I say Ozil was a bad player ? None. With the twist you’ve put on my comment you should apply for a job at the BBC, or The Guardian, or The Daily Mail. Very poor form chap. Very poor indeed. That’s below the belt.

I merely question Ozil’s demeanour on a football pitch. Where it often looks like it’s the last place he wants to be. Maybe he only feels that way at the Emirates. Maybe he feels like that all the time. Just asking. We’ll know better in a years time I suspect.

4. As for the car business. It’s true. This morning my misses digged me in the ribs and said “spend some fucking money !!” (she’s my biggest fan). For the sake of appearances I went to the showroom, but without the slightest intention of buying a luxury car. I said to the salesman “it might be a Roller but it’s just a car to me”. He looked at me with disdain and promptly sold it to some bloke from Naples. But my misses was happy. I’d gone to the showroom to buy a car, and even though I didn’t buy one the intent was there. Meanwhile, we’re still cycling everywhere. And I think that metaphor is completely lost on you.

5. As for the player retention. Well let’s see how many are on the move after a good World Cup 2/3 more than you might suspect.

Google our average goals, points and wins with Özil and without Özil. You’d be surprised how much of importance his appearance is. I get that he often seems timid and sometimes lacklustre on the pitch, but don’t judge the book by the cover. He has quite some impact in his first season in the Premier League already, obviously more than you think and that IS something.

Regarding Ozil’s demeanour – I think this is more to do with the players he had around him at the time. When Walcott and Rambo were injured his creative role in the team was pretty obsolete. He had no one running beyond him so his primary role in the team was ball retention – and as a top level footballer paid to create chances understandably this was not enough for him. His options were slip one though to Giroud to not be able to latch on to due to lack of pace, or pass across the pitch to one of the other 4 creative midfielders around him. There was no one making runs beyond him – and that was obviously of considerable frustration to him.

To me he seems like an introvert – he is never going to be the type to wear his heart on his sleeve. Just because he is not tearing all over the pitch does not mean he does not care. What you do see when the camera’s focus on his face is often him uttering criticism to himself – he wants to succeed just like the rest – but unfortunately it has been difficult due to the lack of options ahead of him this season.

Look i always believed that Wenger is a footballing genius. Superior in almost everyway compared with other Football managers except for one. Tactically he is not the best, he is not that strong in that area. He is yet to trully outsmart a manager of a big club tactically to his advantage. One of the few matches i remember him setting up his team tactically the best was a champions league tie against Real Madrid which we won. He has lacked that tactical nous that is really required when two equal sides meet. All big teams like Man utd and Chelsea fear us because they know we are technically superior, so to counter that, they look to exploit any weaknesses we might have. And unfortunatley we seem to be predictable in our approach most of the time and they sit back and wait until we are at our weakest to then pounce and kill us off.

This season wasnt a complete loss. For years Arsene has said that he did have a team to compete for that tittle and didnt need a hell lot of changes. He has been buying very good players over the last three or four years that make up a large core of our first 11. We missed a number of very important players who all play in the same area. In March we had Walcott Ramsey Wiltshire Ozil Koscielny and to some extent Gibbs out. And we lost most matches that month, losing the best chance in 6 years to lift the Premier league title. 9 points is really what we are talking about. The losses to stoke, Everton and draw against Swansea are what really ended our season plus that loss to Napoli which meant not finishing first in the champions league group stage.

Four defeats. Are we really saying because of four defeats we no longer think he is the right man for the job? There is a difference between someone he just didnt achieve the target and someone who wasn’t even close.

I too want Arsenal to win a major trophey ( Fa cup is the third most valuable) but wont want to win one at the expense of Arsenal Fc’s future and lets be honest no body can be trusted more with the future of the club than Arsene Wenger.

Jokes aside, agree to most part except him not being tactically good enough. He needs to start keeping and implementing a plan B no doubt, but when our team isn’t off injured and all of our starters are available his tactics work perfectly, even against big teams. Examples would be the 2-0 wins against Napoli and Liverpool this season.

But might it more prudent not to have a cavalier approach when we have half the team out injured as you said. Isn’t it a sign of great manager to make do with what he’s got and adjust his tactics accordingly. A team with half of the first team choice out should not have been that gung-ho at the bridge, eithad or anfield.

I’ve read somewhere and I might me wrong, that the manager does not look at the weak points of the opposition to exploit, but rather always will only continue to focus on the way his team want to play. This may work against the west hams, the Swansea, but Bayern, Chelsea or City, forget it.

Being beaten 5-1.6-0 once or twice can be an accident, but we didn’t seem to change our tactics in those games regardless of the players available, so doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results, well you know..

If he stays, it’s fucking good news. He’s negotiated some tricky waters and this year was fucked by injuries. He’s made some mistakes but some of you lot that wanted him out were plumping for Moyes not that long ago. He has some money to spend, I feel Arsenal are on the cusp of another special era.

you do realize that other fans visit our site right? wenger in or out is a side issue. but arsenal and AW is definitely one of the classiest set ups in England right now. When do you see a Ramires elbow when arsenal plays? Or maybe the Suarez style of biting people? Our ‘roughest player’ flamini gets booked but at least he doesnt try to put footballers out of commission and destroy their careers. Are you srsly telling me that arsenal isnt that classy? Go to Stamford Bridge and youll realize that were one of the most gentlemanly set ups in English football.

First we need that silverware and CL place. Yoiuve got to worry about just how wet that board is where Wenger seems to have been to set himself that minimum requirement and they haven’t.

Despite those horrible heavy losses this sealon I still rate Wenger as a coach, especially as a developer of young talent. But he has been so shit in too many transfer windows so I do worry. However I lean towards supporting him staying on. He must know that if this team gets the monkey of its back at wembley next month then it can push on from there, especially if its in the CL, and thats down to him to stop fucking up in bringing in the required replacements and neccesary reinforcements.

This summer players will look that we have had a really good most part of the season and they know we have been struggling with injuries and only had 1 striker for the most part of it, we have Arsene Wenger, Mesut Özil, Aaron Ramsey, Laurent Koscielny as world class players and plenty more fairly young high quality players people want to play with. In other news i think this still would be a really attractive club to join for any player and le prof will do the best to improve the squad this summer, but still dont expect were going to have a City/Chelsea/Spuds kindoff transfer window. Thats what our fans expect and goes agains AW when you can clearly see that its not really the best choice muhfughha

“I wouldn’t be so negative about David Moyes taking over as manager. […] If appointed, Moyes would hopefully immediately deal with the yawning problem which is our defending. And in the long term he would almost certainly sort out the disastrous shambles of a squad that he would be presented with.

“All these Wenger-worshippers are going to look stupid when the new boss comes in and clears up The Nutty Professor’s shit.”

What you should do is now go away and research Moyes stats against the past United managers, including Sir Matt Busby and Sir Alex Ferguson and then when you realise that his were the best by far cut yourself a nice slice of pie and taste how humble it is.

“He just needs to get back to his old ways of splashing on that final little bit of quality and depth and we can challenge like we used to”

That just isn’t going to happen.

The Moyes saga has nothing to do with Arsenal’s future and is in no way the defining model of how managerial transitions pan out. When Wenger came to the Arse people were saying “Arsene who ?”. And look what happened next !!

Gooners have to get out of this ridiculous “the sky is falling the end is nigh” mindset and look to a future without Wenger, and look to that future without fear.

I say bring in a younger man with a bit of nous. Who has proven that he can perform in this league, and on a limited budget and resources. Who is technically and startegically smart. And, who might have a few aces up his sleeve.

I say bring on Mauricio Pochettino. Before Real Madrid or Barca snap him up.

Sentiments apart and regardless of the outcome of the remaining league matches and the FA cup game, in my opinion, Wenger deserves a fresh start somewhere in order to keep his legacy at Arsenal in a decent shape.

Errrr i think we will lose wenger to united hes what there after ticks every box makes clubs loads of money knows how to win thing even if its for a few years till bayerns manager fancies a change think im stupid ask yourself wenger at united makes so much sense share prices back up able to make good players world class jones rooney cleverly nani just to name a few. Even if its only for a few seasons it just makes so much sense and hes outta contract so hell be cheap hell bring the best out of uniteds new breed comong thru

The only thing that can trump my desire to see Arsenal succeed, is the desire to see Arsenal succeed with Wenger as the manager. He deserves to finish what he has started. Sometimes I knee-jerk and after bad results want him out, but he is the one who got us here and if the first part of the season is an indication, we’re well primed for another title-contending run next year. My visions of Wenger raising another PL trophy, getting a good run in the Champions League, the pundits and cunts such as Mourinho proved wrong, and the team clicking and firing on all cylinders, that’s what I hold on to as a fan. There’s only one Arsène Wenger

While January could have been handled better, the expectation that we could somehow sign a world class player was ridiculous. We were never going to get anyone good. So no, it wasn’t really a “chance”, was it? Maybe to strengthen the depth of the squad, but certainly not to improve the quality in the team.

And you know what, he bloody well delivered the time before. Not many of us thought we needed a player like Ozil but after less than a season it’s almost impossible to imagine Arsenal playing optimally without him.

The thing people don’t get is just how far off we were after the RVP departure. It was always going to take three proper windows to turn us into title contenders. Yes, we have money now, but not enough to rebuild an entire team in one window. Wenger opted for quality over quantity and the result is that with one more good window, we could have a worthwhile team.

Do you really believe that there’s someone better available is my question. Usually the answer to that question seems to be ‘what about that klopp guy or whatever’ which underlines how bloody stupid the people who spout this shit are. Klopp’s not going anywhere and neither is anyone else you want. You ditch Wenger you’re definitely ending up with someone less qualified with him and this team is nowhere near good enough to be successful without a good manager.

But hey, I guess these are the same people who wanted MON and Moyes to take over. Or wanted us to sign M’Vila, Fellaini and Samba. Almost without exception I find that to be the case.

Re your point about van Persie – maybe the solution is to fight to keep your best players. Sometimes it doesn’t work, like Dortmund and Lewandowski, sometimes it does, spectacularly – like Liverpool and Suarez.

I just can’t believe a club with 100 odd million in reserves pretends like its a pauper. What’s really being done is taking fan support, turning it into balance sheet numbers and sitting on it in anticipation of making a profit on the eventual sale.

This guy loves the club, you can see it in his eyes. He made this team from scratch. Ramsey, Wilshere, Sczc, Gibbo, Ox, Gnabry, and most importantly the fucking stadium. All that while keeping us within the top four of the most competitive league. He made it all. So, all you “WengerOut” lot should feel ashamed, because Arsene is more of a “fan” of Arsenal than you’ll ever be. In Arsene we trust.

There would not have been the fan base or extra money and we would not have been bankable for the stadium on a loan had we not secured consistent showings in the CL.

Nor would we have had a stable foundation finance wise had we not had Wenger’s acumen and general frugality in market.

Part of the reason of course why Spurs have a hard time building a stadium.

Those ingrates that gripe on about how the fans built the stadium and Wenger has mismanaged funds really ought to take a good look at the blank space between their heads

We are a club that is self made and that develops players.

We develop young players in Henry, Fabregas, Walcott, Ramsey to name a few and we develop older players in Per, Arteta, Koscielny to name a few.

If you aren’t in to self made and development, I suggest Arsenal is not the club for you.

Reality is we cannot compete against the deeper pockets of ready made clubs. But we are getting very close.

Why chuck the whole thing in at this point?

Unless you cans secure someone who can continue to develop and further this ethos (say Klinssman), and there are very few, we are better off with Wenger at this point in time (provided minimum finish of 4th plus FA cup)

“I wouldn’t be so negative about David Moyes taking over as manager. […] If appointed, Moyes would hopefully immediately deal with the yawning problem which is our defending. And in the long term he would almost certainly sort out the disastrous shambles of a squad that he would be presented with.

“All these Wenger-worshippers are going to look stupid when the new boss comes in and clears up The Nutty Professor’s shit.”

A sad day in recent history of the club however people try to put a positive spin on it…

Some suggested giving wes ‘…a final crack’ as if the club owes him. Wenger’s top 2 best paid football manager for years. And please read the our financial statements to understand how poorly wenger leverage our resources (ie what we already have).

If our resources (meagre to begin with) were poorly managed, we would not have built a stadium.

This is the result of :

1)Fans

2) Wenger building and growing the fan base through his success early on

3) Frugal management of spend with players. We did not throw money away and burden ourselves being a self made club. Sure he has signed duds but they are generally comparatively low spend.

4) CL for 16 seasons ensures extra revenue and stable fan base. This is a high minimum finish for ANY club year in year out.

5) I dunno what the gripe is. He just spent 42.3m on Ozil (+ the attraction of CL footy) to bring a world class player over. That should put to rest the ‘does not spend argument’. As soon as he does that, the gripe turns to he spends too much neglecting he did not spend on Flamini who has been a real gem this season. Then the argument goes to he should have spent instead on more players but maybe not as world class to ensure depth neglecting the fact that we have as many players in every area as City bar the striker issue. Less we go out and spend 100m on OK players for depth, need I utter the name of Spurs?

“I wouldn’t be so negative about David Moyes taking over as manager. […] If appointed, Moyes would hopefully immediately deal with the yawning problem which is our defending. And in the long term he would almost certainly sort out the disastrous shambles of a squad that he would be presented with.

“All these Wenger-worshippers are going to look stupid when the new boss comes in and clears up The Nutty Professor’s shit.” fatgooner is a bastard.

A fourths pot finish with an FA cup is a reasonable finish and represent modicum improvement.

OTOH, the fact that we were so close and but Stoke, Swansea and Everton away from 8 points and still in the title equation is frustrating considering we could not add the one element (in the striker) that could have tipped the balance in our favour.

Arguments in favour of change ring hollow without suitable successor. It’s one thing to want change but who you bring in is equally important.

Moyes is a prudent example in being careful for what you may wish for. he was lauded as a top manager and has had a better long term record than Martinez (whom inexplicably some seem to think the world of)

We have heard it all before too with AVB being lauded by the press as the next demi god of football, Harry redknapp so close but no cigar, Spurs employing a myriad of top level ‘progressive’ managers to no avail and still no regular CL.

That should get people thinking. Wenger is crap but he is still able to keep a decent minimum fourth spot finish.

Ask yourself, without 4th spot, CL, do you think Ozil would come to us for 42.3m? Unlikely.

That’s just the reality.

Those who laud Rodger’s success should remember he is without pressure on four fronts and Liverpool have been outside Cl for several seasons now. (granted they are having a stellar season)

Yeah the gaffer is tactically limited but if he can bring in the top level quality up front (I can count the candidates on one hand), it may paper over his tactical deficiency and give us a better shot at the top. We aren’t far away.

This is proviso of course we seal the 4th spot AND we do the business with the FA cup.

Anything less and I am leaning toward Wenger out camp.Call me fickle.;)

This season if we win the FA cup and seal CL, we are effectively at very least the most successful PL club after of course the eventual PL winners. The two teams likely above us will count for nought (unless of course one is Chelsea and it wins the CL)

Yes we have had a repeated issue with performance with big teams but that does not mean things don;t change

Your argument is tantamount to axing Walcott and Ramsey because there is no room for improvement.

Arsene is generally slow to change but he is not inflexible in thought either.

This current squad has been several seasons in the making since he dumped the erroneous idea of depending on youth graduates and recruited experience with panic buys in Koscielny, per and Arteta.

On that note, we were once flawed defensively where at very least we have now rectified that deficiency. Whilst we are still not competitive against bigger teams, we do not lose against the smaller teams now.

That is a change in the right direction.

Your sort of wooly headed thinking does not add clarity to the issue even if there is some merit in Wenger’s fault lines. He is not allergic to change. He would not be competitive at the top still otherwise.

Most people on here have very short fucking memories. When we lose it’s the end of the world, when we win, you are not allowed a single line of critique, everything is rainbows and daisies.

To ‘Santori’s argument that fourth is the minimum requirement and not the ambition: OK, are you still considered a top performer (football manager or salesperson, or otherwise) if you keep achieving the bare minimum for 10 years? Answer this simple question honestly please?

Second : we had different teams, players and squads these past 6 or 7 years. What is the thing they all had in common? A top four place, a February/march collapse and a last 16 place in the champions league. To any outside objective viewer, it looks like a top 4 place and a last 16 spot is where our level is at.

Arsene Wenger has achieved many remarkable feats, and is already a club legend, but I said three years ago that we will not win the league or champions league with him at the top. And I unfortunately, I have been proven right, and will continue to be proven right.

Some people automatically assume that Arsène is now going to spend and buy the players we need to compete for the title.
We needed a striker last year and failed to get one. We have arguably been 2 players short of a great team for years. We are about to lose probably at least 3 good players in the summer add those to the players we about ready need to compete.
Not sure why people are so optimistic about us getting the players we need. History tells us different. With or without wenger we are shit at transfers and this year we will need at least 5. Last year was our chance, with changes in management at other clubs, Liverpool have shown that.
We fucked up yet again in the transfer market and now the big clubs will strengthen again and we will continue to hesitate as always and continue to play catch up.

From what I read here and there, he more than has the backing of the players and it only takes a quick glance down the table to see what’s happening at clubs where the players aren’t behind their manager.
I hope he does stay for at least another year and that the eventual transition to a new manager is gradual, planned and not a last minute ‘I’m retiring, here’s David Moyes’.

Its good if he stays. It’s when the players don’t believe in you that the manager should be replaced. The club would be in disarray of he left. Why? Players like ozil moved to arsenal because of trust shown by Wenger.

I have confidence that Arsene Wenger will lead us yo a top 4 place for the 17th year in a row with an improved points tally from last season plus the added welcome bonus of winning the FA Cup making us the most successful team in FA Cup history along with Manchester United. Wenger should then be given no more than 2-3 more years to cement a 20 year legacy at the helm. During the next few years he and the board should recruit his successor who should choose the signings we need to have in the team before he takes over so the transition is seamless and with hopefully the team already winning and adding to this season’s FA Cup success. Ideally my choice would be Klopp or Martinez with Bergkamp, Henry, Bould and Jen Lehmann as coaches. Arsene should then become a director like Sir Alex Ferguson.

Yes gold fish we had 4 bad results but was top of league for nearly 4 months with a ‘terrible’ team apparently. A better points tally and fa cup will be progress on last season so just support team and manager and let’s do one better next year

According to the laws of Quantum Mechanics, WENGA can be OUT & IN at the same time. So please STOP FIGHTINGApril 28, 2014 at 10:01 am

I’m glad we identified the difference between us: to me those 4 results weren’t bad. The Stoke result was bad. The failure to win against a shit MU side was kind of bad. The surrender, and complete humiliation at the hands of our rivals (and that includes a cheply assembled Everton, and a far from wealthy Liverpool) says a lot about our ability to go the extra mile and actually be champions.

And no one said we had a “terrible” squad. That’s a straw man argument. I think we have a great squad, but at this level, you need the extra 10 or 20% that a great manager can give you. Preparation, gameplan, extra motivation.

I love Arsene, but after all these years of “wait until the end of the season and judge him / we do not have the necessary funds to compete/ our defence will get better next year” I truly think the evidence is here for all to see: we are a top 4 team, and a last 16 team in the CL.

Yes, I support my club and spend time, money and love on it, and that is the reason I want what is best for it.

What Wenger actually said in that interview was: “I’ve given my word to this club that I want to continue where I am.”

That’s not the same as him saying that he will definitely sign a new contract. My guess is that Wenger wants to stay, but whether he does or not probably depends on what happens between now and the end of the season. In his column today, Arseblog opined that Le Prof staying depended on Arsenal winning the FA Cup; I don’t agree with him. For Silent Sam, a top-four finish – and the money it brings – is the minimum requirement demanded from the manager, and my guess is that Wenger will stay if we achieve this. FA Cup success or failure is probably irrelevant to the man with the dodgy syrup.

Of course, Wenger staying will be a disaster for the club: he has no idea how to turn us into champions. A new two-year contract will just mean two more years of incompetence and mediocrity. But, hey, nobody at the club gives a shit about actually winning trophies any more. Making money is all that matters now.

If The Nutty Professor does sign a new deal then I’ll make a prediction: he’ll be sacked before the end of it. Wenger is a manager on the way down. Over the next two years I expect to see the decline rapidly increase. His bonkers transfers, wages policies and tactics will take the club to the middle of the Premier League; then, like the hapless David Moyes, he’ll be unceremoniously axed. It’s a shame that Gazidis can’t see this: now is the perfect time to jettison this has-been; instead it will cost the club many millions to dispose of Le Prof when it all goes wrong.

But, hey, maybe I’m wrong: apparently Monaco are desperate to have Wenger back – and are willing to pay him stupid money for his services. Wouldn,t it be wonderful if he went?

Incompetence and Mediocrity? That would be a mid table finish or worse for a big budget team. We haven’t finished out of the top 5 in 20 years. That is NOT incompetence and mediocrity. And Silent Sam wanting top 4 or better? He probably wants that, but he’s not going to fire Wenger if we don’t qualify. Arsenal are an established, Have you seen the St Lous Rams stats? Nuggets? Rapids? The Avalanche are the only other team Kroenke owns with multiple trophies in the cabinet. I’m not saying everything is right with the team, but your perspective seems to be a little strong on the D & G. With Everton loosing today, we have a great opportunity to pull that belt a little tighter on 4th. We’ve beaten Hull concisely. We can do it again and add some silverware to the cabinet. COYG!!!!!

I was going to argue every point in your post and then decided not to waste my time and effort, instead I thought I’d put it into writing a few words that will keep you reading just to see if I do argue which regardless or not will ultimately ending in ‘thumbs down’.

Frankly I find the sycophancy sickening.

In fact I will, the only reason we’re in the top 4 is because Everton collapsed like a spider on roller skates. What’s catastrophic about our season again is that yet again we failed to realise potential because of weak minded squad players, Wenger’s complete inability to listen to anybody on his team and his inept tactical nous. I don’t think I need to mention his complete inability to act decisively in the transfer market.

His legacy, as things stand, is a bunch of trophies in the first half of his career and a successful transition to the Emirates. It’s not enough. He has to show something more on the footballing side of things. He has to get the trophy monkey off his back. And I don’t mean the FA Cup (though it will certainly be a start).

And that means assembling a squad that can cut it at the highest level. Which makes this transfer window interesting. He won’t be able to just ‘tweak’ if he really has sights on the Champions’ League and/or the Premiership.

And if he stays, but still doesn’t strengthen? Well, then his legacy will probably be mixed. And his last few seasons will be little different from this one.

This is really bad news. Another two years of injuries caused by out dated training methods, poor tactics against the top sides, poor transfer activities, and unknown French youngsters who cost nothing.

Yet the fans are forced to pay prices associated with teams that have ambition and actually win things. The board are gutless and lack vision. If he stays another two years I guarantee another two years of failure.

Winning the FA Cup doesn’t mean he’s had a successful season. It papers over the cracks of all the problems I’ve already mentioned. I don’t need to support the manager to support the team.

Come on Southampton! 1-0 in the first minute. Hope they can do us a favour. We’d be 4 points ahead with a win on monday and then just one more win would get us a top 4 finish. If we win the lot, you never know, we could still end up 3rd.

Look at media trumpeted progressive managers like Martinez, and Redknapp or AVB?

Even fatgooner favorite Moyes.

And then there is another trophy the FA cup. If Wenger can land these two, unless Chelsea win the CL, only the eventual title winned would have done better than us this season. not the best but improvement in the correct direction.

You Know…Sometimes HEART knws BETTER than the mind!!! That old man deserves one last chance…He loves ARSENAL more than all of us put together…yeahi i knw its sentimental but when it comes to ARSENE i like being sentimental, just like ARSENE ws sentimental when he offered RAMSEY a contract extension in 2012

Imagine what Martinez could do with our resources?? Diego Simeone is leading La Liga. Liverpool is about to win the league. When it comes to Arsenal, oh well, all we do is make excuses for our manager year-in, year-out. Oil money this, Oil money that. It’s 18freaking year now. A pattern develops (if u were to look objectively)

Wenger has never won a single trophy where he’s had to beat more than one good team (a late 90s United team being the only team to compete with to win te league). Luck of the draw in FA cup so didn’t have to face Utd.

Let’s look at his overall record objectively against “average good” teams: 2 Qtr Finals wins in the Champions League in 18yrs. TWO!!! TWO wins in 18yrs!!!!

Just FYI: There are going to be 5 “good” teams in the Premier League next year. Based on factual results are we really going to sit around here and bullshit ourselves???

Wanting something different is one thing but shallow thought process is another.

18 years has delivered 3 titles as well as an unbeaten season, several FA cups (doubles), and consistent CL finish.

Plus Wenger’s success in early tenure has ensured a growth in brand and fan base for Arsenal which has along with his general acumen/frugality in market afforded us the chance to build a stadium and grow in financial power.

Consistent CL participation has allowed us to secure loans for the stadium and generate extra revenue to ensure we get through transition.

You want to be Spurs? They are still struggling to get into Europe despite a number of managers (including apparently two mavericks in Rdeknapp and AVB who were suppose to show up Wenger). They still can’t build the stadium. they spend 100m and where are they this season? Still where they are stagnant.

We are stagnant but we are in the CL always.

I would suggest some of you are a little spoilt, have short memories, deficient in mental capacity or all of the above.:)

please, Arsène, stay with us. nothing beats that feeling in April where you look at some other shit team results hoping they lose so we can take the fourth place and qualify for a competition we never stand a chance of winning. Fourth is ours, long live the fourth and the genius that spoils us!

The BPL will be really competitive next season, without any signings we will really struggle to achieve success in the league next season. We have Manutd who is rumored to spend a large amount of money to get back on track. Liverpool is not gonna get any worser if they keep Suarez and continue to strengthen other positions. Man City will like always spend big and add more quality to their already very capable squad. Chelsea will bring in a world class striker etc. They will be better for next season.

Can we please break our non spending habbits and try not to shoot ourselves in the foot ahead of a very important and competitive season? All Wenger needs to do is spend money that’s my only issue whatsoever with him…

You take examples which has been massive success for us, Flamini has been vital for us this season. And I can guarantee you if I’d list all cheap signings we’ve made the recent couple of years the list would be long, we’d find a lot of flops.

Spending means bringing in the right player. Tell me, has not Neymar, Bale, Götze, Willian etc. Had an massive impact on their team? Özil made a huge impact for us but it was our first world class signing for several years.

If you pay cheap, you know that chances are the player is not gonna be a huge success.. Those players you mention was never worth the type of money and was overestimated all from the start. Wanyama made a couple of good matches in the CL and immediatly people said he was the new iniesta. There is difference between spending on “We think he is top quality”, and players which has proven themselves to be classes above the rest. Özil comes in to this cathegory and it’s players of his capability we shoud aim to bring in to this fine club. If you disagree, then sure fine. I for one want my arsenal to get success because I love the club. I want the club to be respected and successful again in Europe..

“I wouldn’t be so negative about David Moyes taking over as manager. […] If appointed, Moyes would hopefully immediately deal with the yawning problem which is our defending. And in the long term he would almost certainly sort out the disastrous shambles of a squad that he would be presented with.

“All these Wenger-worshippers are going to look stupid when the new boss comes in and clears up The Nutty Professor’s shit.”

— Fatgooner, 11 March 2013.

fuck you fatty. That was in march 2013. U’d suck on moyes’dick if u had the chance then. Fucking fat pillock

Oh, sorry! I was so wrong! It’s a good thing that we stuck with the brilliant Arsene Wenger; I mean who else could have taken us from four points clear at the top of the league in January to fighting for fourth in April?

I’ve said a number of times recently that Moyes is a decent manager – look what he did on limited funds at Everton – but he just didn’t work out at Man United. It doesn’t help if the players don’t play for you. We have a better squad of players than United: Moyes would probably have just about scrapped fourth with them too.

I don’t want him as Arsenal boss – but I don’t want Wenger either.

And by the way, Greengooner, the only Fucking pillocks are idiots like you who are happy with season-after-season of the failure. Even scummy Spurs have shown some ambition.

I had a weird dream that I think was Arsenal based. it was a ‘job of your life’ interview for five ladies.

First up, a lass with no real qualifications for the job but her interview was a good one. In particular, she ended the interview very well. Despite having no experience in decades of such a role, she has become the favourite. Despite her ‘David Brent’ management speak.

Next up, a girl that comes from the wrong side of the tracks. Always friendly and unassuming, she’s always been popular. Probably, as she’s never been a threat. Recently, her father won 150 million pounds on the Euro Millions rollover. She has become a little too loud since then, but overall she isn’t too offensive. During her interview she seemed a little over confident at times and made some glaring errors. She still has a chance, but she refuses to acknowledge that her Bentley parked outside was paid for by her father.

Then, in comes a lady nobody likes. In her youth she was well known in far right circles. She claims to have changed, but it’s not unusual to see her popping her hand out of her sunroof to do a Nazi salute. She drives a Ferrari nowadays, after marrying a suspected member of the Russian mafia. She’s also thought of as a ‘bit of a tart.’ Her father once sold her for a pound. The mafiaso were rumoured to pass her around like a midget in a porno. Her chaperone is a swarthy Latin bloke, with a penchant for the psychotic. Gouging the terminally ill and bullying old aged pensioners are no stranger to him. Despite her wealth and influence, she is not favoured for the job but is still in with a chance.

Next up, comes a behemoth of a lass. She always gets what she wants and has been successful for decades. Recently, her Scottish chaperone retired and in came another Scottish version. She then got fired from her job for taking advice from this man. Wearing boxing gloves to the interview ‘in case someone attacks her’ was the final straw for her potential employers. She’s already got her coat and left.

The last candidate seemed a shoe in. Classy, elegant and charming. Perhaps not the vintage she was 10 years ago, but she can still catch the eye. Many feel she became stale after success and didn’t change with the modern world. However, during her interview she started to charm the owners. Her ideas were different and she was miles ahead on their check sheets. She then suffered a paper cut during the interview. ‘No biggy’ , said the potential boss. He offered her a plaster to fix it. She refused, claiming that she ‘didn’t need it.’ Soon after, her blood was in a small pool around her feet. She panicked a little and started to churn out her old theories. They weren’t impressed. She then coughed and accidentially sharted herself in a most audible fashion. The stench was terrible. The mafia slut couldn’t stop pointing and laughing. The poor girl then stood up, only to slip on her blood and fall flat on her face. She ran sobbing all the way to her car. A nice reliable Volvo. The lady with the Scottish chaperone was struggling to start her car (she was unable to hold the key with her boxing gloves on) and our heroine at least beat them to the Ring Road. As a bonus, she also discovered what she suspected was a winning lottery ticket when cleaning her bloody handbag at home. It wasn’t the jackpot, but the next best thing. She hopes to impress next year, but her friends hope she can change her ways a little. They want her to see the obvious mistakes she makes in being stubborn and refusing assistance. An ‘accident’ can become a major disaster if left unattended.

How do we expect to ever be “elite” when we have a manager who’s never won a trophy beating multiple elite teams.

Just FYI: aside United, there was absolutely no other team in the league during Wenger’s better years. If u want his real truth, look at his European record during his better year : He never ever progressed to/past the Qtr Finals.

He’s neve been an elite coach. He just inherited a very, very good situation. 20yrs on, we can look over his complete body of work without having to give excuses but for Christsake it’s 20yrs.

When r we going to stop making excuses for an average manager who’s been going downhill for years.

Every single reason for Wenger to stay has been based on sentiment. Every single argument.

It’s seems evident that a lot of fans just don’t believe in him no more – not even if he’s handed 100M to spend. And there are others who remember good times with Wenger a are still holding on to those memories and associating it with the realities of today.

In any case, every argument that has been made here–whether u agree/not–has been made with love for ARSENAL.

I believe as fans, so long as we argue for the CLUB first before anything else, then we’ll inevitably head in the right direction.